The Atomic Arrangement-Dependent Electrical Transport Behavior of Excimer Laser induced Graphene Ridges on 4H-SiC

Abstract In this paper, the sub-micron graphene ridge structures commonly observed in laser irradiation on the 4H-SiC surface are analyzed to explore the formation mechanism and the electrical transfer properties. The cross-section morphologies of irradiated SiC indicate that the atomic arrangement of graphene sheets in flat and ridge areas is different significantly. The atom distributed direction of laser induced graphene layer is more prefer to be morphology-dependent rather than the SiC atomic distribution-dependent. The difference of carbon atoms arrangement is considered to be the reason of the various electrical transport properties on the graphene ridge and the flat graphene sheets. The electron transfer behavior along the gap between graphene layers is found to be stronger than that from layer to layer. The formation of such graphene sheets is attributed to the high energy photons irradiation-induced decomposition of SiC and the reconstruction of carbon atoms on SiC surface. The study on the formation of laser induced graphene ridge with different atomic distributions and the corresponding mechanism of electrical transport property is significant for the growth analysis of graphene on silicon carbide during thermal destruction.